[WEB4LIB] RE: HTML Referring?

[Thomas Dowling]

At 01:10 PM 10/22/2002, Debbie Faires wrote:
>Can you please explain:  what are the distinctions between graphical
>editing and WYSIWYG?

For those scoring at home, WYSIWYG stands for "What You See Is What You 
Get."  It's a term that has been around for twenty years or so, and came 
out of print publishing software.  When you know your output medium in 
detail (your printer's physical and pixel resolutions, availability of 
color, access to specific fonts, etc.) it makes sense to talk in terms of 
WYSIWYG.  When you know nothing about your output medium (*my* monitor's or 
printer's resolution, color, fonts, etc.), the term WYSIWYG does not make 
sense.

I have been advised off list that I'm splitting hairs.  Could be.  My real 
point was that graphical HTML editing, by any name, encourages 
presentational markup that ultimately breaks down badly in display 
environments different from the author's own.


Thomas Dowling
OhioLINK - Ohio Library and Information Network
tdowling at ohiolink.edu